Driveway, patio and paver cleaning
Concrete, pavers and stone come back to the colour they were laid in. We surface-clean rather than wand-stripe, so you get one even finish instead of a zebra pattern.
What the job includes
- Surface cleaner across all flat concrete and paver areas, for an even finish with no wand stripes
- Moss and weed growth pulled out of the joints, not just sprayed over
- Edges and borders detailed by hand where the machine cannot reach
- Oil and rust spots pre-treated before the main wash
- Everything rinsed down and swept off so we leave it clean, not muddy
Anything outside this gets quoted separately and shown to you before we start. We do not add line items after the fact.
Why Lower Mainland driveways go black
Concrete and pavers are porous. Given a wet climate they hold water in the surface, and anything that holds water in Greater Vancouver grows something.
The black film on most driveways here is algae. The crusty white or pale green patches are lichen, which etches into the stone and will not come off with a garden hose. In the joints between pavers you get moss, which lifts the stones out of level over a few winters and turns a flat walkway into a trip hazard.
Cleaning it is partly about how the place looks and partly about not replacing pavers in five years.
Questions we get asked
Will pressure washing damage my pavers?
Not at the pressure and technique we use. The risk with pavers is stripping the joint sand and pitting the surface, which happens when someone gets too close with a narrow tip. A surface cleaner spreads the pressure evenly and keeps a consistent distance, so you get the finish without the damage.
Do you re-sand the joints afterwards?
Joint sand replacement is a separate job and we will tell you on the quote if yours needs it. Cleaning removes moss and old degraded sand, and on some driveways the joints should be refilled afterwards to keep the pavers locked together.
How long before it goes green again?
In this climate, expect a noticeable difference within about a year and a proper regrowth by two. North-facing and tree-shaded areas go first. Most people here land on cleaning every one to two years.
Can you get out oil stains?
Usually we can lift most of it with a degreaser pre-treatment, but old oil that has soaked deep into concrete may leave a shadow. We will tell you honestly what we think will come out before we quote it.
Other things we clean
Send a photo, get a flat price.
Most quotes go out the same day. We give you one number before we start, and it is the number you pay.